To Protect the People
by Misaki Takahashi
Summary: Zexion is the prince of a suffering country. He's been planning to overthrow his father for several years, and soon the opportunity will present itself.


So, this is my first Fanfiction.

As far as pairings go, I can guarentee Zemyx. There will probably be AkuRoku as well, but other than that, I'm not making any promises. So basically, if you're a homophobe, don't read this story. It's as simple as that.

Other than that, I should probably mention that this takes place around the sixteen hundreds.

Enjoy the first chapter of "To Protect the People".

* * *

It's not that I ever hated my father.

On the contrary, he's been there for me as much as his position would allow. After all, being the ruler of an unstable monarchy was probably low on the list of jobs that are generous to give free time.

The problem is that he's putting the needs of the royal family before the needs of the country the monarchy supposedly serves. He believes that if we can fix things at the top of the food chain, everything else will fall into place. At first I even believed that this plan might work.

Then I witnessed something that made me realize that his plan was an absolute pile of shit. I was wandering outside of the palace when I saw a crowd of people in an uproar about how the people were suffering and whatnot. The royal guard eventually came along. Out of nowhere, they apprehended and arrested several of them.

That was when I realized that someone was going to have to stop my father and his tyrannous rule. But I was just one person. Granted I was a prince, but I was more of a figurehead for my father to use.

So I gave up; no, I chose to bide my time until such an opportunity arose that I would be able to overthrow my father and give the people of this land a ruler who cared about them.

"Zexion, your father wishes to speak with you." One of my maids informed me.

"Thank you Aerith." I said kindly before dismissing her. So, my father wanted to 'speak' with me. More like order me to another publicity campaign to gain support for the crown. Regardless, I would cooperate. It could be a good way to gather information about where the empire is weakest. Gather a bit of support, and viola, we have a revolution.

Ah, if it were only that simple. No, truth be told, the only other person who knew about my plans to rebel against my father was Aerith. She was a kind and gentle woman, and easily understood my distress toward my father's rule. While she told me that she wouldn't be able to help my cause, she promised that she would keep it a secret and that she would be there if I ever needed someone to talk to.

I wandered through the seemingly endless corridors of the castles, casting my gaze upon the countless chandeliers, the ocean of stain glass windows, the silk tapestries, and the glistening suits of armor. It dawned upon me ages ago that with the amount of money that it required to decorate the halls, we could have fed our entire country countless times over. I made a mental note to do so when I sat upon the throne.

I finally arrived at the audience chamber where my father sat in his prestigious throne. He was a tall man of just over six feet, and had a very lean but muscular body. His royal outfit consisted of a long black coat with silver pauldrons, black boots, and black clothing underneath. His long silver hair nearly matched my own, mine only having a slight tint of blue to it.

I went down onto one knee in order to signify my allegiance to the throne. "Aerith said you wanted to speak with me father?"

"Zexion, there have been several outbursts of rebellion amongst the commoners." He began, his voice unwavering. "You are to make a public appearance at the town hall to announce that the royal family is doing everything within it's power to better the living conditions for the citizen."

"What are we doing to help them?" I asked, barely audible.

He clearly missed what I said as he continued. "The royal guard will accompany you should the rabble grow violent. You are dismissed." He stated, his hand motioning for me to leave.

So he wanted me to lie through my teeth to the public in order to gain their trust. In failing that, the royal guard would be there to demonstrate the power the crown held and put them in their place. A flawless plan, I had to admit. One which, of course, I would go along with.

I walked out to the courtyard. It was cloudy out, though the sun still managed to peek through the clouds. The wind was still, other than the sporadic gust of wind that made itself known. It was late summer, so much so that the leaves were already at the very beginning of their color transformation. Spots of yellows, reds, and oranges were amongst the common green leaves. I took a deep breath in of the fresh air. It wasn't often that I actually had time to slow down to enjoy some of the simpler things that life had to offer.

Of course, this was short lived as the royal carriage pulled up to the entrance of the palace to transport me to where I would deliver my speech. The driver was an old man (he would yell at anyone who so much as mentioned his age furiously). He had short blond hair that conjoined into a single spike at the middle of his head, and his eyes were a pale blue. He also had a nasty habit of smoking, though he refrained from doing so when transporting the royal family.

He opened the door to the carriage. I hoisted myself into a seat, and he closed the door behind me.

"To the town hall Cid." I ordered.

"I know where we're going." He said gruffly. One thing that I always enjoyed about Cid was that he never seemed to care if he was speaking to royalty. He was just as abrasive with us as he would be with commoners. "His royal asshole was gracious enough to inform me earlier." Ah, his nickname for my father always warmed me on the inside. It was a miracle that Cid hadn't been beheaded for the way he was always speaking so lowly of the king.

"Cid, while I wholeheartedly agree that my father is not the best of rulers, you would do well to avoid speaking so lowly of him." I chuckled. "That is, if you want to keep your head upon your shoulders."

"Eh, that royal bastard don't deserve any respect." He argued. "His tax hikes are driving the folks who already struggle to starvation."

"Starvation?" I asked sincerely. I knew that the commoners weren't doing well, but that they weren't even able to feed themselves? Knowing that I had to go and advocate for this gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"We're almost there." Cid said as he glanced back. "You feelin' okay? You look kinda' pale."

"I'll be fine." I said, swallowing the feeling of disgust that was slowly working its way up my throat.

After a few more minutes, I managed to put my feelings aside and put on my acting persona. The carriage pulled to a gentle stop, I opened the door, and began my walk to the podium. I waited for the noise of the crowd to die down, then began.

"Citizens of Kurushimi, I have heard from my father that there has been disunity between the royal family and yourselves." I said strongly. "It is to my understanding that this is due to the suffering that you have been put through due to higher taxes." At this, the crowd booed loudly at this.

When it died down, I continued. "I assure you that the monarchy is putting this money to a beneficial use to all. We need only that you give it more time." There were mixed reactions from the crowd, ranging from cheering to death threats. One person attempted to push through the crowd toward the front. He had dirty blond hair in a style that I had not yet seen; it was incredibly thick in a line down his head, with several bangs falling over his forehead, but shaved everywhere else. His eyes, from what I could make out, were green. The boy wore a simple black cloak, black gloves, and black shoes.

The guards quickly moved to apprehend the boy. "Stand down." I ordered them. "Let him speak." The guards stood down and the crowd turned their attention to the young man.

"Prince Zexion, you claim that the royal family has the best interests of its citizens at hand, but how can this be so when royal guards have assaulted citizens unprovoked?"

"The royal family has received no knowledge of such occurrences, but I assure you that I will put in a thorough investigation and punish any involved in such events. You have my word."

The young man looked neither pleased nor upset, and simply retreated back into the crowd. After several more hours of answering questions, the crowd dispersed.

The ride back to the palace was uneventful, though this may have been due to my being lost in thought about what that young man had said. Did my father know about this? Assuming he didn't, who was responsible for the attacks? Rebellion may be out of the question at the moment, but making sure the proper people were punished was another.

When I finally arrived at the palace, I moved swiftly to the audience chamber to find my father conversing with one of his generals. I hid myself quickly. This was something I had always had skill with, hiding my presence from others.

"Several known rioters have been dealt with, your majesty. Lest their scars fade, I don't believe that they will be a problem again."

"Very good General Isa. You are dismissed." My father said.

My fears had been confirmed. My father knew that innocent citizens were being harmed. And for what? Saying that they were discontent with the monarchy. But as per usual, I would play along with my father, waiting for my opportunity to put his rule to an end. I entered the chamber, passing Isa on the way out. The man had blue hair that blew back into an array of spikes. He wore a suit of armor embroidered with a crescent moon along the chest plate. His two swords, though sheathed, were crescent swords, a rather uncommon and unpopular model, due to the fact that they were often associated with criminals and thieves. His eyes were sea-foam green, and he had piercings in his ears.

As Isa passed me, he bowed. "Ah, Prince Zexion, I heard from your father that you were addressing the public today. I assume everything was successful?" He asked respectfully.

"Of course general. I believe that I've bought us a bit more trust from them." I answered, holding back my anger.

Isa continued his way out of the audience chamber, and I proceeded to my father, kneeling as appropriate.

"Everything was a success I trust Zexion?" He asked, staring me down.

"Yes, the crowd seemed pleased by the speech I gave them. Though one of them brought forth an important question." At this, my father raised an eyebrow. "He said that the royal guard has been attacking citizens unprovoked. Is this true?"

My father looked at me sternly, but quickly changed his expression to one of a more worried nature. "Zexion, I'm glad you've brought this to my attention. I will ensure that these soldiers are dealt with as soon as possible. I ask that you no longer trouble yourself with the matter. You are dismissed Zexion."

_Don't play me for such a fool father. I know you have no such intentions. _

_But I'll play along for now._

Thank you father." I said as I exited, suppressing my rage toward everything I had learned that day. I could feel that things were about to get a lot more eventful.

* * *

So, Just out of curiosity, who do you think Zexion's father is? I made it fairly obvious, but leave me a review just so that I know you know.

Also, I can't promise that this fic will be updated regularly. I'm in high school, I'm part of the school musical, I tutor kids at our middle school, and I actually have a social life (GASP!).

I **should **be posting another story soon that I'll be cowriting with my friend Cameo. It's going to be a crossover of Kingdom Hearts and Battle Royale. Watch for it.


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